Cameron Miles says he keeps four obituaries above his desk in his office. They depict the faces of young men he has worked with through his program, Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood. It’s a sobering reminder of Baltimore’s violent culture consuming the lives of young people.

“I wish I hadn’t lost those four,” said Miles. “I wish I could have done more to be able to say today that we haven’t lost anybody. So I’m always wondering what did I do wrong? Or what didn’t I do enough of to keep them from making the wrong choice? So if I’m focused on what happened to those four, hopefully we won’t lose anymore,” Miles added.

Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood during their recent trip to North Carolina. (Courtesy Photo)

However, the loss of his mentees didn’t deter him from his mission, instead it fueled his drive to keep going.

Miles started his mentoring program in 1996 with just five young men in the cafeteria of the Department of Social Services building on Biddle Street. Since then he has touched the lives of hundreds of boys and young men growing up in Baltimore’s toughest neighborhoods. Miles personally understands the allure of the streets and why it’s critical to get involved in the lives of these young men early.

“When I was younger I made some poor choices. I made some mistakes,” admits Miles. “I know what it is to have dealings and run-ins with the police and I don’t want that for any other young man.”

Today, Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood is housed at New Shiloh Baptist Church in West Baltimore and meets two Saturdays a month. The program offers tutoring services and a guest speaker series featuring professionals from the private business sector, government and community advocacy.

Exposure to positive experiences is key to Miles, which is why the program schedules frequent tours and out of state visits. Previous trips have included the New York Stock Exchange, Harvard University and Morehouse College.

Last month, Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood went on a three-day weekend trip to North Carolina. The group toured North Carolina Central University and Duke University. They also visited Self-Help Credit Union, TROSA, a residential treatment facility and Stagville, a historic site comprised of slave plantations.

“It was truly a phenomenal trip,” said Tia Bossiwa, who accompanied the boys to North Carolina. Understanding the need for more positive male role models, Bossiwa enrolled her two teenage sons into the program a year ago.

“There’s a certain time that a young man needs a man. They need mentors in their lives and you got to have your eyes open so you can recognize it and then begin to place people in their lives that can give them what they need so they can grow up to be the phenomenal men that they are,” said Bossiwa.

Gershom Bossiwa,Tia’s son, is a 16-year-old student attending Chesapeake High School. He acts as a peer mentor for the younger boys in the program.

“Some of the kids I don’t know if they have a father in their life. It’s not that we try to be their father…But we just try to be somebody that they can look up to,” said Gershom. “We just want to put them on the right path if they are not already on the right path.”

It’s been over twenty years since the program’s inception and Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood has garnered respect and support of public officials, entrepreneurs, and even renowned Harvard law professor, Charles Ogletree, Jr. Yet, Miles still remains relentless in his work.

“I don’t feel that it’s good enough,” admits Miles. “I feel like I got to come up with better ideas to do an even better trip next year. I feel like I got to try to reach more young men than I already tried to reach.”